"{Soar unto heaven, O divine wings—Celestial Flash}!" Kouki chant aloud as he prepared his Holy Sword's ability.

"No, stop, you idiot!" Kouki ignored Captain Meld, raised his sword up high, and swung down with all his might.

Kouki finished chanting his spell the same instant, and his holy sword unleashed a dazzling blade of light. There was no escaping it. The curved light passed through the Rockmount with only the slightest hint of resistance, cutting it cleanly in two, and stopped only after crashing into the wall.

There was a loud rumbling, and pieces of the wall began to rain down. Kouki breathed a deep sigh, then turned to the girls, a lady killer smile on his face. He had defeated the big bad monster for them. Just as he was about to say "It's okay now!" Captain Meld, who was smiling angrily with veins popping out of his forehead, walked up to him and delivered a punch. However, he punched Kouki at the back of his head.

Rio, meanwhile, took his chance to deliver a punch into Kouki's face. He was very satisfied because he could do it. But, of course, he feigned his severe look.

"Hobwah!?"

"You damn fool! I understand why you got angry, but you can't use skills like that in a narrow passage! You could've brought the whole cave down on us!"

"That's what he said. Even a moron should be aware of it," Rio just added the salt into Kouki's bruised ego.

Kouki's complaints died in his throat at Captain Meld's and Rio's chastising words and severe expressions, and he apologized awkwardly. The boys and girls all smiled wryly and tried to comfort him.

Then suddenly, Kaori turned to look at the crumbled section of the wall. "...What is that? It's all sparkly..." At her words, everyone turned to look in the direction she was pointing.

There was a strange mineral emitting a pale blue glow, protruding from the wall like a flower in bloom. It looked like a crystal with Indigolite buried in its center. All of the girls, including Kaori, were entranced by the beauty of the gem.

"Oh, that's a glanz crystal. And a pretty big one to boot. How rare," Captain Meld said.

Glanz crystals were basically a type of raw gemstone. Though they held no special properties, their l.u.s.ter and radiance made them popular among the noble ladies and their daughters. They were often processed into rings, earrings, pendants, and such other jewelry to be given as gifts. Apparently most girls were overjoyed to receive glanz jewelry as gifts. It was among the top three jewels used in proposal rings.

"That sounds so lovely..." Kaori blushed when she heard Captain Meld's explanation, and was further entranced by the stone. She then stole a glance at Hajime, who had an awkward, stiff smile on his face. It was so quick that it almost went unnoticed. However, almost everyone, barring Kouki and Captain Meld, most definitely did take note.

Rio eyed the Glanz Crystal and pondered whether he should touch it by himself or allow Daisuke to do the honor. He was aware that Daisuke couldn't accept Hajime's and Kaori's relationship despite the said couple flaunted it in front of the students, or at least, Kaori did while Hajime had an awkward and helpless expression as he was subjected by hateful and envious gazes of the boys. The girls surprisingly accepted their status as a couple.

All that aside, back to the current situation.

"In that case, I'll go grab it for us!" Daisuke suddenly ran forward after saying that. He swiftly climbed up the debris of the crumbled wall, heading toward the glanz crystal as fast as possible. Captain Meld hurriedly tried to stop him.

"Hey! Don't just run off on your own! We're not even sure it's safe yet!"

However, Daisuke pretended not to hear, and he was standing in front of the crystal before long.

"Captain! It's a trap!"

"What!? Stop!" However, both Captain Meld and the knight's warning arrived a moment too late.

The second Daisuke touched it, a magic circle appeared in the center of the crystal. The trap had been set for anyone foolish enough to touch the glanz crystal. "If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is." That was one of the world's golden rules.

The magic circle glowed bright, then grew large enough to encompass the entire room. It was just like the day they had been summoned.

"Crap, retreat! Everyone get out, now!" Captain Meld's words spurred everyone into action, and they all scrambled for the exit... but they didn't make it in time.

Light filled the room, and before long white was the only thing anyone could see. Everyone was assailed by a momentary sensation of weightlessness. Rio and the others could feel the atmosphere shift. A moment later, the knights appeared in the middle of a massive stone bridge.

It was around one hundred meters in length. The ceiling also towered a full twenty meters above them. Below the bridge was not a river, but instead a dark abyss with no visible end. The gaping chasm resembled the very pits of hell.

Though the bridge was ten meters wide, it had no railing at all, so if someone slipped, there would be nothing to catch their fall. The knights had been sent to the middle of the bridge. One side of the bridge was a passage heading further in, while stairs leading upward were at the other end.

Captain Meld and the knights immediately turned around, checking the heroes' condition, and was aghast the next instant.

It was because Rio and all twenty students had disappeared.